Medvedev outsmarts Zverev to win Shanghai Masters

Shanghai:  Daniil Medvedev of Russia won his second Masters title of the season after beating Alexander Zverev, his fellow rising star from Germany, 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Shanghai Masters here on Sunday.

It was Medvedev's first win over Zverev after losing all their previous four encounters. The 23-year-old has now pocketed a Tour-leading 59 victories in 2019 and Shanghai was his stellar sixth final in a row, during which he won in Cincinnati and St. Petersburg besides reaching his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open, Xinhua news reported.

Medvedev went into the match in good form and broke Zverev in the second game for an early 2-0 lead. However, fifth seed Zverev broke back in the fifth game and then held his own service to level the score at 3-3.

The two players went with the serve as Medvedev led 5-4 after the ninth game. Zverev then committed two double faults in the crucial 10th game as the Russian took the first set 6-4.

The second set repeated the same story as Medvedev broke Zverev's first service for a 2-0 lead. He then broke once more in the fourth game to establish a dominant 4-0 lead and finally sealed the victory with an ace in the seventh game.

This year's Shanghai Masters was all about the young generation as the four semifinalists -- Medvedev, Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Italy's Matteo Berrettini -- were all born in the 1990s, a first in ATP Tour history.

Medvedev has now proved that he is the leading contender to join the "Big Three" -- Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.